thetrainfamilyWhen reading about train connections in North Macedonia online, everything sounds promising. Most sources claim that the country has a well-developed rail network and a smoothly operating train system. However, in practice, the reality is quite different. Explore our experiences with train travel in North Macedonia here.
Travelling from Ohrid to Bitola (and further on to Skopje)
We are willing to go to great lengths to take the train, but here in the Balkans, this stretch is unusually long! When we needed to travel from Ohrid to Skopje, we quickly discovered that the railway from Ohrid was discontinued in 1966. So, we had to leave the city by bus. We made some research on Omio (sponsered content), where we were alle to see the route and travel time. We went to Ohrid bus terminal a couple of days before departure to inquire about destinations, departure times, and prices. We were confirmed that we could travel to Bitola (read more about and see photos of the city on Wikipedia here) and from there proceed to Skopje by train. The easiest option would, of course, be to go directly to Skopje from Ohrid by bus, but we WANTED to take the train if it was possible. We found out that we could only buy the tickets on the day of travel, but we got the schedules. The bus departs daily from Ohrid bus terminal to Bitola at 6:30 AM, 12:20 PM, 1:20 PM, 1:30 PM, and 3:30 PM.
On the day of the journey, we arrived an hour before departure and bought tickets for the five of us for 1700 Dinars. The bus terminal has a toilet (for a small fee), an ATM, a café, and seating areas.
The bus was a minibus (furgon), and it departed on time from platform 1. There were only three other people besides us.
The journey lasted about 3 hours.
Bitola City and Train Station
We arrived at Bitola bus terminal and walked from there to the train station, which is located opposite. There were no other people in the waiting room, and there was no ticket seller. After some time, a man arrived and asked if he could help us. He was the ticket seller. We were informed that the train departed at 6:24 PM. So, we went out and saw the large playground in the children’s park and the cozy pedestrian street.
We returned to the train station 10 minutes before departure. We had read that trains on the Bitola-Skopje route can be quite delayed, so we were not surprised when the train did not arrive at 6:24 PM. It ended up being 30 minutes late (no loudspeakers or any form of messaging system), and an additional 10 minutes after we had boarded the train. In those 10 minutes, the engine was turned off, and the train was pitch dark! Part of the explanation is that Bitola is the terminus. The train between Bitola and Skopje is made in China by the CRRC-Company and was ordered in 2013. When the train finally started moving, it made an almost eerie sound of metal scraping against each other without any lubricant! Therefore, we moved away from the carriages and closer to the driver’s cabin, only to find that the conductor was sitting and smoking there, making the whole area where we sat unbearable!
As it quickly got dark outside, unfortunately, we could not enjoy the sight of the Macedonian landscape. Occasionally, the conductor would come and say something in Macedonian. We struck up a conversation with a female fellow passenger after asking what the man was saying. She was a medical student on her way from Bitola to Skopje. We inquired about the delay, and she said the train was always 1-1.5 hours late. She also mentioned that Macedonians generally prefer to travel by car or bus rather than train. However, students generally take the train as they get a discount.
We indeed arrived 1.5 hours late at Skopje Main Station. The train was quickly emptied, and the station was deserted when we got off the train. There was literally not a single other person besides us. Inside the train station building, there were no other people either. There will be a whole post about the abandoned train station later.
The journey was a bit of an adventure, and we were glad that we had managed to take the train in North Macedonia.
Traveling from Skopje to Thessaloniki (Greece)
Our destination after Skopje was Thessaloniki in Greece. Again, we had done research online and had read conflicting information about whether there are trains between Skopje and Thessaloniki or not. So, we went to the train station to investigate further. We ended up at the train ticket counter. I only managed to say that we were going to Thessaloniki, and the lady pointed towards where you could buy bus tickets! There are no trains between Skopje and Thessaloniki. So, we asked if we could go to Gevgelija (a town near the Greek border). We could. The train departs daily at 6:30 AM and 4:30 PM. Both these times were impossible for us. We wouldn’t be able to pack up the kids and things and leave the apartment and arrive at the train station before 6:30 AM. If we took the train at 4:30 PM, we would arrive too late to catch the bus to Thessaloniki. It was tempting with the train, which would only cost 15 Euro for the five of us! We went to the bus booth, and the bus ticket to Thessaloniki cost 10700 Dinars! Shockingly, there is only one bus daily between Skopje and Thessaloniki, namely at 8:30 AM. So, we had to take that.
Unfortunately, North Macedonia seems to be severely affected by a lack of public transport and transportation options in general.
Waiting for the train at Bitola Station
